St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-09-10
cries of distress in that cellar. Men will
slpen and women will watch

Again: woman has SuperlatlVe Tlgnl
to take care of the poor. There are hun
dreds and thousands of them all over the
land. There is kind of work that men
cannot do for the poor. Here comes a
group of little barefoot children to the
door of the Dorcas Society. They need
to be clothed and provided for. Which
of these directors of banks would know
how many yards it would take to make
that little girl a dress? Which of these
masculine hands could fit hat TO that
little girls head? Which of the wise
men would know how to tie on that new
pair of shoes? Man sometimes gives his
charity in rough way, and it falls like
the fruit of tree in the East, which
fruit comes down so heavily that it
breaks the skull of the man who is try
ing to gather it. But woman glides so
softly into the house of destitutiOn, and
| finds out all the sorrows of the place, and
puts so quietly the donation on the table,
that all the family come out on the front
steps as she departs, expecting that from
under her shawl she will thrust out two
wings and go right up toward Heaven,
from whence she seems to have come
| down. O, Christian young woman if
you would make yourself happy and win
the blessing of Christ, 90 out among the
destitute A loaf of bread or a bundle of
socks may make homely load to carry
but the angels of God will come out to
watch, and the Lord Almighty will give
His messenger hosts a charge, saying
Look after that woman. Canopy her
with your wings and shelter her from all
HARM" and while you are seated in the
house of restitution and suffering, the
little ones around the room will whisper:
"Who is she? Amt she beautiful ~ and if
you will listen right sharply, you will
hear dripping down through the leaky
roof, and rolling over the rotten stairs,
the angel chant that shook Bethlehem:
GLORY to God in the highest, and on
earth peace, good will to men" Can
you tell me why Christian woman,
going down among the haunts of iniquity
on Christian errand, never meets with
any indigntv? | stood in the chapel of
Helen Chalmers, the daughter of the
celebrated Dr. Chalmers, in the most
abandoned part of the city of Edinburgh;
and said to her as | looked around upon
the fearful surroundings of the place:
DO you come here nights to hold ser
vice." 80, yes" she said. Can it be
possible that you never meet with an in
suit while performing this Christian
errand?" Never" she said, never
That young woman who has her father
by her side walking down the
street, an armed police at each corner, is
not so we'll defended as that Christian
woman who goes forth on Gospel work
into the haunts of iniquity, carrying the
Bibles and bread. God, with the red
right arm of His wrath omnipotent,
would tear to pieces anyone who should
offer indignity. He would smte him
with the lightnings, and drown him with
foods, and swallow him with earth
quakes, and damn him with eternal in
dignations. Some one said: 81 dislike
very much'to see that Christian woman
teaching those bad boys in the
mission school. I am afraid to have
her instruct them" so" said
another man, 81 am afraid too" Said
the first. II am afraid they will use vile
language before they leave the place"
"Ah," said the other man, II am not
afraid of that. What I am afraid of is
that if any of those boys should use a
bad word in that presence the other boys
would tear him to pieces and kill him on
the spot" That woman is the best shelf
cred who is sheltered by the Lord God
Almighty, and you need never fear going
anywhere where God tells you to go.
1t seems as if the Lord had ordained
woman for an especial work in the sOlic-
itation of charities. Backed up by bar
rels in which there is no flour, and by
stoves in which there is no fire, and by
wardrobes in which there are no clothes,
a woman is irresistible; passing ON her
GRAND, God says to her: "You go into
that bank, or store, or shop, and get the
She goes in and gets it. The
man is hard listed, but she gets it. She
could not help but get it. 1t is decreed
from eternity she should get it. Noneed
of your turning your back and pretend
ing you don't hear; you do hear. There
is no need of your saying you are
begged to death. There is no need of
your wasting your time, and you might as
well submit first as last. You had better
right away take down your checkbook,
mark the number of the check, fill up
the blank, sign your name, and hand it
10 her. There is no need of wasting
lime. Those poor children on the back
street have been hungry long enough.
That sick man must have some farina.
That consumptive must have something
to ease his cough. l meet this delegate
Of relief society coming out of the
store of such a hard-fisted man, and l |
say; Ibid you get the money!" "Of |
course" she says, II got the money,
hats what l went for. The Lord told
ne to 60 in and get it, and He never |
sends me on fools Grand"
Again: have to tell you that it is
specific right to comfort under
he stress of dire disaster. She is called |
he weaker vessel; but all profane as
we'll as sacred history attests that when
he crisis comes she is better prepared |
han man to meet the emergency. How |
,ftcn you have seen a woman who seemed
o be disciple of frivolity and Incidence,
who, under one stroke of calamity,
changed to heroine! Oh, what great
Mistake those business men make who
never tell their business troubles TO their
wives! There comes some great loss to
heir store, Or some of their companions
n business play them a sad trick, and they
larry the burden all alone. He is asked in
he household again and again: What is
he matter? but he believes it sort OF
Christian duty to keep all that trouble
within his own soul. Oh, sir! your first
luty was TO tell your wife all about it.
She, perhaps might not have disentangled
'our finances, or extended your credit,
'ut she would have helped you to bear
.-T